1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to coverings for architectural openings such as windows, doors, archways, and the like, and more particularly to a rail for use in such a covering wherein a shade material can be secured to the rail in a manner to conceal the rail.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Coverings for architectural openings such as windows, doors, archways, and the like, have taken numerous forms over a long period of time. While some such coverings are not retractable, most include a shade material that can be extended across an architectural opening or retracted adjacent to a headrail or bottom rail adjacent a top or bottom of the architectural opening.
Rails used in such coverings take numerous shapes, which are normally dictated by functionality but sometimes by aesthetics as well. In other words, it is desirable that a rail be aesthetically pleasing so as not to detract from the aesthetics of the shade material or the overall covering.
Some rails have a curvature that is aesthetically pleasing while others might be covered with a fabric which can be tightly fixed to the rail or can hang a short distance from the top of an architectural opening so as to extend beneath the rail thereby sheltering the rail from view from the interior of a room in which the covering is mounted.
The shade material itself can be mounted at an upper edge within a headrail so as to be rolled up within the headrail or depending upon the control system used to extend and retract the shade material, it could also be gathered immediately adjacent the headrail in the retracted position of the covering.
The present invention has been designed to positively affect issues related to the aesthetics of a rail and at the same time provide a shade material that can be extended or retracted through a control system associated with the rail.